Emma Berry

Archive for the ‘Main Street’ Category

It’s Time for America to Grow up and Start Acting like an Adult!

Ironic that we as a nation have such a mass paranoia about invasions.  Even Hollywood helps to feed this irrational national fear.  But the truth is that WE are the invaders.  Others have more to fear from our aggression than the other way around.

Look at the great lengths to which we have gone to develop and to protect ourselves from these imagined fears.  Often these actions have involved taking punitive actions against segments of our immigrant populations.

During World War II in a fit of paranoia over Japanese immigrants, many of who had been born in the USA and all of whom were citizens, we shipped them out to the desert where we put them interment camps where they lived for FOUR YEARS under constant scrutiny with absolutely no privacy. They were spied upon and watched by “real” American soldiers, their mail was opened, etc.

Then in the 1950’s we had the “invasion of the yellow hoardes” to worry about.  In fact we worried so hard about the invasion of the yellow hoardes that Americans all over the USA spent millions of dollars building and stocking bomb shelters against this somewhat faceless enemy. [Somehow we seemed to forget that it was the Americans, not the Asian who dropped a nuclear bomb on Japan.]

Also during the 1950’s  our elected officials in Washington allowed a deranged alcoholic demagogue named McCarthy to carry out a paranoid witch hunt against “communists” that cost taxpayers millions of dollars and ruined countless lives with his false gossip.

Then of course there was Vietnam–another outgrowth of our paranoia as a nation about communism.  That war cost billions of dollars and  at least 58,196  Americans whose names have been listed on the Vietnam wall[.  In fact, the war in Vietnam is still going on today forty years later as several Vietnamese citizen still die every year from unexploded munitions left by the US military that citizens accidentally dig up or step on.  AND FOR WHAT?  Vietnam turned communist any way.  And in case you haven’t noticed, we have yet to be threatened, much less  invaded by the communist Vietnamese.

We are so paranoid that we buy into the lies of a Republican Administration about Weapons of Mass Destruction.  Now years after the invasion and Bush’s declaration of “mission accomplished”  most of these people admit that they knew from the beginning that there were no weapons of mass destruction.  Perhaps if we were a little less paranoid as a nation we would have asked them sensible questions in the beginning instead of joining their Chicken Little parade.  Too bad we didn’t.  Our economy would be in much better shape today and a lot more Americans would be around to enjoy it.

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Today our national scapegoats are all Muslims and all illegal immigrants from Mexico. As far as the Muslims go:  This country was founded on religious freedom.  Enough said.

We need to do something about our broken immigration system. There are approximately 12 million people, most of whom are Mexican citizens, who are in our country illegally.  They are overwhelmingly not criminals except by virtue of their immigration status which is illegal. All studies conducted by credible institutions  indicate that on a national basis these people are not a tax burden on the USA. In fact most studies indicate that they add 2% to our economy every year.

However there is more than just the national factor to consider and I believe this is where the conflict come to the forefront.  It is true that local communities and their related government services in Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California bear a large burden because of the number of illegal immigrants concentrated in their states.  To say that the locals services and even local job markets in these areas are not overwhelmed because of the illegal immigrant population is, in my opinion, inaccurate.  These states need assistance.

In addition, there is the issue of drug related crimes in all of the border towns.

To pretend that Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California are in the same position regarding their immigration issues as are Kansas or South Carolina is totally ridiculous.

Bonnie is among those many unsung heroes that we don’t often hear about.  She has the responsibility for  her  18 month old great-grandson.  When I mentioned that he was lucky to have her, Bonnie expressed concern that she would live long enough to be able to raise him.

One of her grandsons also lives with her.  He is an adult and was at work. [ He is not the baby's father. ] I think that one of Bonnie’s granddaughters is.  She didn’t volunteer much information about that situation and I didn’t pry.

Bonnie knows the importance of friends.  She has several good friends that she known for 40 years.  She told me that years ago when she moved from Houston to Garland with her two young sons, her brother asked her, “Who will you borrow from?  You don’t know any one there.”  It didn’t take her that long to get to know her neighbors–some of which still live nearby.

Like most Americans, Bonnie has her dreams too.  She wants to get out to Ruidoso to visit her brother.  The last time she was out there was in 1999.

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*Borrowing from neighbors was once a frequently indulged activity by American housewives. I can remember my own mother sending me over to our next-door neighbor, Mrs. Dotson, at least twice a month to borrow an egg or a cup of sugar.  Likewise Mrs. Dotson would borrow from my mother.

Me?  I don’t think I’ve ever borrowed anything  from any of my neighbors–ever.

Time and social customs change–not always for the best.

However, if borrowing from one’s neighbor ever comes back into style, I’ll be an expert after having spent two months begging over 1,000 strangers for their signatures.

One of the great things about gathering signatures for my ballot petition myself is that I get to personally meet and talk with many people who may someday be my constituents.  Since I’ve started gathering signatures, I estimate that I’ve talked one to one with at least 800 people who live in the Third US Congressional District.  It’s an amazing and interesting experience–all candidates should be required to do what I am doing.  It might help them to remember that the bills they pass and some of those that they veto affect the lives of Americans who live on Main Street.   I wonder if any other candidate has taken the time since March 3 to April 29 to talk to 800 people in a one-to-one conversation in our district?  I doubt it.  Although many of the people I visit with have lived in their homes longer than the 20 years that Sam Johnson has been serving, so far not a single one of them has told me that Sam ever stopped by their home–but then perhaps he only visits those in Collin County.

One of the streets that I covered today was “JUSTICE LANE”.  I’m not heavily attached to reading significance into likely coincidences, but I will mention that I got more names on Justice Lane than on any other street that I’ve covered thus far in our district.  Is that a sign that I might win?  I don’t know.  I can only hope so, but first I must finish the horrendous task of getting the necessary signatures for my ballot petition and that still looms over me.

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TODAY, ONE OF THE PEOPLE I MET WAS CLIFFORD EASLEY
www.doziaseasleydonedesserts.com

Clifford is the proud owner of one of those 26 million small businesses that we have in the USA. In 2008 there were 29.6 million businesses in the United States according to the Office of Advocacy estimate and according to their statistics, 99.9 percent of them have fewer than 500 employees.  HOWEVER when politicians  crow about how they “support small business”, they forget to mention that they like Wall Street corporations even better.  Out of that 99.9 percent of businesses with fewer than 500 employees, 98% have fewer than 100 employees!

These are the REAL small businesses.  But because Washington defines “small business” as fewer than 500 employees, people like Clifford must compete with the likes of Wall Street corporations such as Bechtel for government sponsored small business incentives.

Now if you don’t think this is wrong, you must not have an address on Main Street like most of us.  You probably live on Wall Street or in one of those ritzy areas of Washington DC.

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I made Clifford two promises today:

1) If I am elected US Representative for the Third Congressional District of Texas, I will see to it in my first year in office that the official standard for defining a “small business” is changed from “fewer than 500 employees” to “fewer than 100 employees.”

2) If I am elected US Representative for the Third Congressional District of Texas, I will take out a loan in November with a local bank and throw a holiday celebration party somewhere in my humble hometown of Garland with desserts catered by Clifford.

I am still chastising myself for not having the foresight to request samples of his wares today.  However, if you visit his website you can see how mouth-watering they look–and quite reasonably priced.  I plan to order a birthday cake for my daughter-in-law from him at the end of May.

I have heard some of the people in my Third District say: “I hate politics.  They are just a bunch of crooks anyway. It doesn’t matter how I vote.”  Others say:  “I don’t fool with local politics. I just vote in the state and national elections.”

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I agree that politics is a nuisance.  I agree that we have one example after the next of an elected official who is a crook.  I agree that it can be discouraging.  I agree that it is difficult to keep up with all the issues at all levels.  And still, it is worth it for you and your family to be an informed voter at all levels because elected officials in government at ALL levels can have a profound effect on the quality of your life once they are in office.

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Take the low-level position of  a member of the board of trustees for a local community college.  These people make all kinds of important decisions.  For example, if one of them has a friend who owns a parcel of land, they might decide to build a new community college branch on that land–with little or no regard to other important aspects such as the demographics and need of the people who live nearby.  Perhaps a better location might be elsewhere.  Members of the board of education are often key players in the decisions regarding what textbooks will be used in public schools.  These are just two examples of far-reaching consequences and power that is afforded to an elected official–even those at the lower local level.

At the national level, it can even become more expensive.  For example, if a US Representative has son, then county commissioners might award the congressman’s son a no-bid multimillion dollar contract.  In fact, that happened right here in the Third District.  Bob Johnson, U.S. Representative Sam Johnson’s son was given a multimillion dollar contract to manage the North Texas Central Fusion Center, a data-mining operation that collects information on citizens who live in our region.  It behooves us all to get to know who will be making decisions for us at all levels so we can better understand who is scratching whose back and why.  Then, in the next election, we can use our vote as our voice to say:  sorry buster, the free ride is over for you.

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MAKE POLITICS A WEEKLY FAMILY GAME

If  you have children who are in school from the fifth grade up, make a list of all the candidates who are running this November.  Assign a different candidate to each family member each week.  The assignment is to list five reasons why someone should vote for the candidate and five reasons why they should not.  On the basis of their research, they decide if they would vote for the person or not.  The rest of the family decide on the basis of the report whether they would vote for the person or not.  Each family member presents one candidate a week.

This is a valuable activity that will teach your children excellent skills regarding how to participate effectively in a democratic society.

Because of the Internet, we have and unlimited resource for information about these people.  There really is no excuse for being an uninformed voted.

Variations of this can be played with neighbors and friends.

Today I saw a fine example of Chinese-American ingenuity at work in our Third District.  Look at the photo below and see if you can guess what you are seeing.  At first I said Huh? What is that?  or as they say in East and West Texas–“Dew Whut?”

Yep. It’s just what it looks like–lids to toilet tanks.  I wish I knew the story behind this yard art. The entire yard and various flower beds were outlined by these lids. The lady who was home did not speak English and alas I speak no Chinese. Thus it will remain as one of life’s mysteries to add to my growing list of them.

Republicans are not conservative. Conservative is NOT descriptive of their party agenda and their goals.  In fact, their party agenda and goals are as radical and evil and misleading as those of Augusto Pinochet.  The primary aim of the  Republican party is to bankrupt government by spending and passing unfunded legislation to the point that national government is totally impotent to regulate Wall Street and big business in any way to protect the American people. No, they don’t do it under the auspices of supporting domestic legislation.  They resist any bill that will really help Americans to the point of even lying about the content of the bill.  For example, that’s what Chuck Grassley did this summer.  He returned to his constituents on recess last summer and knowingly like to them about death panels being in the health care bill.  Grassley knew that he was telling a lie when he repeated that lie over and over.  They also carry out their mission to bankrupt government by supporting no-bid contracts to war mongers when they are in office.  They do it by lying and plunging our nation into unwarranted aggression against other nations.

The world envisioned by the Republican leadership is a world of the “free market”, a world where employers can pay their employees whatever they want to and can fire them “at will.” A world where consumers are totally unprotected by law with a “buyer-beware” policy in effect and thanks to their beloved “tort reform” agenda that they drag out on a regular basis as a cure-all for the American people, a “tough luck” policy if you are ever harmed by a product’s shoddy workmanship because you would not be able to sue the guilty party to recover damages done to you.  Part of their campaign to achieve this has been to demonize unions and pass legislation to minimize the influence of unions in protecting the rights of workers.

If you want an example of the results of their ideology in action–look no further than the massive explosion of the Massey-owned mine that killed at least 25 West Virginia coal miners last week.  This accident was no “accident”  it was the result of active negligence on the party of Massey.  This mine is not even the most unsafe of the Massey mines. The dozens of other active tunnel mines owned by the same energy company have also run up thousands of safety violations this year alone, according to a review of federal records by TWI. This is the perfect example of the “freedom” that the Republican Party want big businesses to have–the freedom to murder American workers if it means they can maintain the bottom line of the stock dividends that they pay to the shareholders (the upper 10% of the American people).  They don’t care what happens to the American worker.  They don’t care what happens to the people who earn under $100,000 a year.  They more than don’t care–they actively pursue policies that will result in what amounts to Wall Street slavery for the majority of Americans. THEY DO NOT STAND FOR THE PROTECTION OF THE AMERICAN WORKERS.  They stand for themselves and rich mine owners like Massey who are unwilling to invest in creating a safe workplace. FEW WALL STREET CORPORATIONS ARE GOING TO PROTECT THEIR WORKERS WITHOUT UNION PRESSURE  AND GOVERNMENT LEGISLATION.  It is not in their best interests because such activities reduce their bottom lines and the money they pay to their investors and CEO’s.

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Any American citizen who earns under $100,000 a year and who votes for Republican candidates is an uninformed fool who is voting against his/her own best interests and those of their children. The same may be said for some Democratic candidates as well; however, it may be said unequivocally for all Republican candidates.

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I look at all these over 65 people out marking with the Tea Party bunch carrying their signs of “Keep your hands off my medicare.” and I think:  YOU ABSOLUTE FOOLS!

Don’t you realize that the very party you are supporting threw the same big hissy fit that they are throwing today when Lyndon Johnson passed the Medicare Act?  Don’t you realize that if the Republicans have their way that there will be no Medicare.  There will be no Social Security?  George Bush did every thing possible when he was in office to privatize Social Security.

The Republican leadership support neither Medicare or Social Security.

UNLESS YOU ARE HEAVILY INVESTED IN WALL STREET, YOU BETTER WISE UP AND EITHER VOTE FOR A PROGRESSIVE INDEPENDENT OR A DEMOCRAT.

Following is a post that I created in September of 2008 when George Bush was still in office. Unfortunately it is still relevant today. Both parties will rant against the other one regarding all the pork they load into their bills.

But I’m here to tell you as an Independent candidate: There is barely a degree of separation between the two parties on this issue. The Republicans talk about fiscal responsibility a lot–especially when they are not running Washington, but history reveals that despite all their rhetoric to the contrary, the Republicans have a poorer record than the Democrats on that issue–but the bottom line is that BOTH parties are dismal when it come to representing the majority who live on Main Street.

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TWO PIGS HAVE A CHAT ABOUT NASTY REPUBLICAN PORK

Pig One: “Snarfle Grunt Snort, Blah. You know my all-time favorite National Security Pork barrel is Airport Security.

Pig Two: “Fart, Belch Fart. Yuck Yuck. Do you believe it! They actually frisk old ladies.”

Pig one: Hardy har har! That’s a knee slapper all right. But the real knee slapper is that the American taxpayer pays for all this added Airport security. Scrambling to hire airport screeners, the Transportation Security Administration spent up to $143,432 per screener during hurry-up recruiting in 2002. The Homeland Security Department’s inspector general reported Monday that TSA subcontractor NCS Pearson, based in Arlington, Va., scrutinized 129,000 candidates — more than nine times the number originally estimated — in 13 weeks — less than half the time originally allotted. Original cost estimate: $104 million. Final bill to U.S. taxpayers: $741 million. Seems that recruiters worked out of lavish resort hotels with golf courses, pools and spas. hardy har harr

Pig Two: Yuckty yuckty yuck yuck. If I can stop laughing long enough I’ll tell you one even better. Yuckty yuckty yuck yuck. It’s all a farce (except for the money that our friends in the security business get). Here they are hiring all those people, frisking old ladies, making women dump their lipsticks. And there are some passengers that even thank them for keeping them safe. Yuckty yuckty yuck yuck. But the real punchline is that the jokes on them. It doesn’t matter if they were to make every passenger take off every stitch of clothing. Airports still, seven years later only do random screening of parcels that are put in cargo AND they allow crew members, frequent fliers, people with security clearances and other “trusted travelers” to bypass inspection.

Pig one: Hardy har har! stop! you are just killing me with the funnies. I wonder what those Republicans will think of next to stuff in the pork barrel?

Krugman wrote a piece today that says that the Democrats and Republicans live in different universes.  Krugman is wrong.  It is more accurate to say that “BOTH LEADERSHIPS OF BOTH PARTIES LIVE ON MARS WHILE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE LIVE ON MAIN STREET”

To suggest that the Democratic leadership and the Republican leadership are in different universes serves only to further the “good cop bad cop” side show that the leadership of BOTH parties have been participating in for the past 30 years.  I am not buying it.

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As evidence for his claim  Krugman uses Arizona senator Jon Kyl’s defense of Sen. Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) who temporarily held up unemployment insurance benefits to unemployed Americans across the country this week.

In his remarks, Kyl argued that unemployment benefits were a “a disincentive for work because people are being paid even though they are not working.”

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No doubt Jon Kyl made those statements, but Kyl as much as Krugman missed the mark about what Bunning, however boneheaded his approach, was really protesting.  Bunning was demanding that Congress take responsibility by providing a means for paying for this jobs bill within the bill.  He was demanding fiscal responsibility.

In regard to Kyl’s remark about disincentive for work–all that proves is that Kyl is a jerk.  He is not the spokesperson for the Republicans.

I certainly do not agree with Bunning on all his antics and viewpoints, but I do agree with what I believe to be his true spirit in his efforts to stop the Jobs bill until Congress found a way to pay for it.

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The problem with Bunning is that when HIS party is in power, he doesn’t seem to notice fiscal irresponsibility quite so much.

And that is exactly the problem that I have with Sam Johnson!  Where was HE on “fiscal responsibility” during the 8 years of the Bush administration when he could not stamp George’s debit card for the American people fast enough?

VOTE FOR REAL CHANGE!   VOTE FOR AN INDEPENDENT LIKE EMMA BERRY WHO IS NOT TIED TO THE SELF-SERVING INTERESTS OF EITHER PARTY!  I AM NOT A MEMBER OF THE DOUBLE-STANDARD CLUB.

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It’s that old party double-standard at work–”It’s OK if the Repubicans do it because we have a good reason.”    “It’s OK if the Democrats do it because we have a good reason.”

PLEASE NOTE:  BOTH PARTIES HAVE THE SAME WRONG-HEADED PHILOSOPHY–THE END JUSTIFIES THE MEANS.

FIRST LET ME WHINE FOR FIVE SECONDS.  As Kay would say, “I’m entitled.”

Unfortunately I’m one of those Americans who has to work for a living. (OK that’s the five seconds.)  I’m grateful that I have interesting work that helps Americans and pays me a decent wage.  I write copy for a disaster management firm–a small business (a real one with under 100 employees).

Because I had a work-related deadline for today, I was not out and about.  Otherwise I would have been at the polling places throughout the third district with my flip video.  [Also, for  those who may not know, Independent candidates are not allowed to vote in either party’s primary–that’s part of our “punishment” for going outside the two-party system.  Thus as an Independent candidate, I could not participate in this exiting primary.

Had that been an option, (and if I lived in the part of my third District that is in Collin County)  I would have caucused with the Republicans today.  I would have cast my vote for Kay Bailey Hutchison as governor; John Muns as the new county judge; and Chery Williams as the Republican replacement for Jerry Hoagland.

Then I would develop a wait-and-see attitude over the summer.  If and only if their opponents:  Bill White, David Smith, and Rick Koster proved to be better candidates, then I would vote for them along with a vote for myself as US Representative from the third district.  I don’t need to wait and see what more damage that Rick Perry, Jerry Hoagland, or Sam Johnson can do.  Their combined 60 years incumbency has shown me more than enough.

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ALL IS NOT LOST.  Bill Baumbach was out today and if you go to the online news site The Collin County Observer, you can see a video that our local citizen journalist took of the polling places.

Bill is a truth-teller.  Our district needs more people like him.  If you want the truth behind some of the stories that you are given in  Collin County–read The Collin County Observer daily.

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ONE LAST WHINE FOR THIS POST:

While I’m thrilled that voters in my district are so fired up for a primary, it is a bittersweet thrill.

Tomorrow I begin my next up hill battle–to gather 500 signatures on or before May 13.  In order to sign my form, the person must:

1. Live in the Third District

2. Be registered voter

3. Must not have voted in the Primary

I just read another brilliant article in The Collin County Observer by Bill Baumbach titled:  County to spend $5 million on Outer Loop Condemnations.

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NOTE FROM EMMA:

I find it interesting that the Commissioners are voting today, just before the primary.  Most of the current members of the Collin County Commissioners good ole boy’s club crow about themselves as “staunch conservatives” who stand for “limited government”, etc.
Odd that they would be forcing seizure of citizens’ land via the eminent domain process and spending millions of taxpayer dollars in today’s economy for a project that may never come to fruition in our lifetimes.

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EXCERPTS FROM  Mr. Baumbach’s  ARTICLE:

“. . . For the last year, the county has been using its power of Eminent Domain to force the purchase of at least 7 different properties without the consent of the sellers.

In today’s court session, the commissioners will vote to “lend” (against future toll revenue) the Collin County Toll Road Authority $6 million to pay for these condemned properties.

For a road that may never be built, at least not in our lifetime.”